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Doctor Who: Jodie Whittaker becomes 13th Time Lord

After months of fevered speculation, Jodie Whittaker has been named as the new Doctor Who, the first female Time Lord in the show's history.

The 13th Doctor was unveiled following the BBC's coverage of the Wimbledon men's singles final between Roger Federer and Marin Cilic on Sunday (July 16).

The Broadchurch star will take over from Peter Capaldi, who announced that he would be stepping down from Doctor Who earlier this year.

Whittaker said: "I’m beyond excited to begin this epic journey – with Chris and with every Whovian on this planet.

"It’s more than an honour to play the Doctor. It means remembering everyone I used to be, while stepping forward to embrace everything the Doctor stands for: hope. I can’t wait."

Chris Chibnall, the show's new head writer said: "After months of lists, conversations, auditions, recalls, and a lot of secret-keeping, we’re excited to welcome Jodie Whittaker as the 13th Doctor.

"I always knew I wanted the 13th Doctor to be a woman and we’re thrilled to have secured our number one choice. Her audition for The Doctor simply blew us all away.

"Jodie is an in-demand, funny, inspiring, super-smart force of nature and will bring loads of wit, strength and warmth to the role. The 13th Doctor is on her way."

Peter Capaldi as the 12th Doctor CREDIT: BBC

Capaldi has said that his regeneration as the Time Lord will be "more complicated than recent ones", which is now understandable with the revelation of the new Time Lord.

"Doctor Who is a great job but it’s a bit of a television factory, you do 12 episodes a year," he said.

"I just worry that I wouldn’t be able to continue doing my best work because I like to be able to learn the lines and do some preparation and come in and give it the vigor and fun and not hate it."

He added: "Anyone who has seen Jodie Whittaker’s work will know that she is a wonderful actress of great individuality and charm. She has above all the huge heart to play this most special part. She’s going to be a fantastic Doctor."

On July 4, BBC Two's current affairs programme Newsnight appeared to reveal the identity of the new Tardis occupant when presenter Evan Davis said: "Bookies' favourite Phoebe Waller-Bridge has denied claims that she’s going to be the first female Doctor.

"But then, Joanna Lumley has already played the role for Comic Relief, so that would technically be true."

It went on to show a “Who”-style regeneration graphic projected over the image of Waller-Bridge.

Death in Paradise's Kris Marshall was also a favourite to replace from Capaldi.

Capaldi, who took over the role of the Doctor from Matt Smith in 2013, will hand over the keys to the Tardis from the role after this year's Christmas special.

Steven Moffat, the show’s lead writer and executive producer, will also leave the long-running sci-fi series after the Christmas special, to be succeeded by Chris Chibnall.

The Christmas special will see David Bradley making an appearance as the first Doctor, the role originally taken by actor William Hartnell in the Sixties, meaning that three different incarnations of the Time Lord will appear in the same show.

The previous incarnations of the Time Lord were played by:

William Hartnell (1963-66)

Patrick Troughton (1966-69)

Jon Pertwee (1970-74)

Tom Baker (1974-81)

Peter Davison (1982-84)

Colin Baker (1984-86)

Sylvester McCoy (1987-89)

Paul McGann (1996)

Christopher Eccleston (2005)

David Tennant (2005-2010)

Matt Smith (2010-2013)

Peter Capaldi (2013-2017)

Jodie Whittaker (2017-)

The announcement was teased during coverage of Roger Federer's semi-final clash with Tomas Berdych on Friday evening, while the official Doctor Who Twitter account also released a trailer.

The 60-second clip shows the number 13 in a number of iconic locations across Britain including Downing Street and the White Cliffs of Dover.